Croatia complicates the “Junior Whites” mission in the Doha World Cup

The UAE junior national team suffered a severe loss to Croatia by three goals to none, in the second round of the group stage of the U-17 World Cup – Qatar 2025, in a match during which the “White Juniors” did not perform at the expected level, in exchange for complete control of the Croatian national team over the course of the game.

The possession percentage reached 75% in favor of Croatia, a clear indication of the huge difference in technical and physical performance, while the UAE national team was content with limited attempts that did not pose a real threat to the goal. The national team was able to score a goal at the beginning of the second half, but the referee canceled it after returning to video technology (VAR).

The Croatian national team scored two goals in the first half through Tino Kosanovic (30) and Gabriel Sevalic (36), before Radoš added the third goal in the 89th minute, confirming his team’s superiority and deserving of the match points.

With this result, the UAE’s score froze at one point after its draw in the first match against Costa Rica, while the Croatian team raised its score to 4 points after its previous draw with Senegal.

The team will play the decisive confrontation against Senegal on November 9, in a match of fate that will determine the identity of those who qualify for the round of 32 of the world championship.